The exhibition ‘God Bless You Mr. Rosewater’ was an association between seven current working artists, in and around Lincoln. This exhibition was part of a wider festival within the city ‘The Vonnegut Arts Festival’, consisting of five other exhibitions in various, exciting locations. The festival was held on the 4th – 11th May 2015.
The title of the exhibition has been taken from the Kurt Vonnegut novels, in theme with the festival as a whole. It is the story of Eliot Rosewater, a millionaire who develops a social conscience, abandons New York City, and establishes the Rosewater Foundation in Rosewater, Indiana. He seeks to enact the slogan, “God damn it, you’ve got to be kind,” which some have seen as the essence of Vonnegut. This proves to be difficult and complicated, however, in a society that equates riches with merit and morality, and poverty with sloth and undeservingness.
(Video courtesy of Alexandria Clow)
For my artwork in the exhibition I decided to do a Portrait painting of the wife of Mr. Rosewater, Silvia. In the book Silvia doesn’t have a massive role however is still a dominant character within the story line. The overall theme of the exhibition was wealth and greed as the novel was very much surrounding such matters – the distribution of wealth and its social and psychological consequences is certainly the novel’s central theme. Within my painting I had strategically placed pennies in small clusters, and proceeded to paint over the pennies. The idea of placing pennies then concealing them with the paint was that money is clearly a dehumanizing force for Vonnegut, and it conceals his whole life.
This piece of artwork also relates to my current field of study, looking closely at the colour and texture within the surface of the skin. My current work looks closely at portraiture and the proximity of the painting on a canvas. I have painted Silvia, Vonnegurt’s wife, very close up and personal as her character in the book is not focused on in any way. I want the viewer to feel as if the portrait is too close for comfort and they are delving into Silvia’s personal space.
Artists Associated:
Olivia May Allum
Charlotte Hill
Alexandria Clow
Chelsie Jordan Humber
Hannah McKinlay
Kezia Wattle
Kristina Wilson
To find more out about God Bless You, Mr Rosewater:
http://vonnegut-arts.tumblr.com/
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